The Moments of Separation
by Historianic
Summary: "How infinitely selfless and generous of you," Betty retorted curtly. Daniel felt as though he'd been slapped. "What's going on Betty?" All the faultlines in Daniel and Betty's relationship are brought into relief.
1. Storm clouds gathering

**Author's note: **Ok, so this is my first piece of fanfiction ever. It's a two-shot which may be expanded into a multi-chapter fic if there's interest (both from me and any potential readers). This is set in the year 2009 dealing with a more grown-up Daniel and Betty. But be warned: this is an AU. So you should probably leave any ideas about events that happened on the actual show at the door. Because chances are, it didn't happen in this universe or if it did, it occurred in a completely different context. Case in point, Daniel Jr. and Tyler do not exist in this universe. If after all this you still want to give this ficlet a try, then thanks in advance for taking the time and I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **I own absolutely nothing. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm simply borrowing these characters for my own creative exercise.

**Special mention: **To _TMadison, _who inspired me to give my own writing a shot. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

**1**

"So I guess that's it."

Daniel stood in the doorway, clutching the Harvard sweater he'd left at Molly's apartment some months ago and kept forgetting to take home with him. She smiled softly.

"I hope you'll be happy Daniel. I hope you find what you're looking for," She said sincerely.

"Yeah, you too. Goodbye Molly," He kissed her cheek, gave her one last smile and then left the apartment.

The town car was waiting for him and Daniel slipped into the backseat feeling pensive.

Nine months they'd been together.

It had been his longest relationship and certainly his most serious. He'd really liked Molly and he didn't regret the time they'd had together, but after eight months when it started to feel as though the relationship had run its course, Daniel had realized that while he liked Molly a lot, respected and even admired her, he wasn't in love with her.

After that revelation he'd known he'd have to say something soon. They were getting to the point where they'd need to have a conversation about their future together and he didn't think it would be fair to lead her on when he didn't see things going any further. But it had still taken him a whole month more to find the courage to have that conversation.

Molly had not seemed very surprised by his confession, though she was still more than a bit hurt. But she'd wanted him to be happy.

"_I do love you Daniel," She'd said, "but that's not your fault. Just because I wanted this doesn't mean you have to be with me. And if you're worried that I'll be miserable, yes, I will be. I'll feel very bad and it will hurt, a lot. But life doesn't stop, does it Daniel?" _

She'd started crying then and he'd hugged her. They'd given each other space for a few days and then he'd come to finally say goodbye and at last remembered to take his sweater with him.

As the town car carried him away from the home of his now ex-girlfriend, Daniel's thoughts turned to a different woman.

It had been nine months since he'd really seen Betty and properly talked to her. He wasn't sure how it had happened. Life he supposed.

Two weeks after he and Molly got together, Betty had landed a position as a features editor for _New World_. It was still a Meade Publication but one that was closer to the kind of magazine journalism Betty was really interested in. Her new position kept her very busy and they no longer saw each other every day, but Betty still made the effort to catch up with Daniel every week.

However, he'd been a little wrapped up in his new relationship and hadn't paid much attention to anything else. The weeks went by and it was only when, while looking for post-its in his desk, he stumbled across the magic, good luck stone she'd brought him back from Mexico that it occurred to Daniel: he hadn't seen or heard from Betty in six months and she'd stopped leaving him messages inviting him to coffee or lunch. So he'd headed up to her office on the 30th floor only to find that she was out on assignment and would be gone for the week.

That had been his one effort to get in touch with Betty. A week or so later, he'd missed a call from her and made a mental note to call her back. But then it had been Molly's birthday and he'd gotten caught up planning a special surprise for her, so he forgot again and never actually got around to calling Betty back. She hadn't attempted to reach him again either.

One afternoon, about two months ago, he'd been out picking up some wine for dinner with Molly when he'd spotted Betty leaving the pharmacy a few stores down. She'd seemed in such a hurry that he doubted she'd seen him and by the time he wanted to call out to her, she was gone. Not long after that he'd had his revelation about his relationship with Molly, and as he agonized over how to break things off with her, he found himself wishing that he had Betty to talk to, to ask for advice.

He'd muddled through on his own but he'd become acutely aware of the fact that he missed Betty. Now, as he sat on his own in the town car, that feeling returned.

Suddenly the thought of returning to his empty loft apartment wasn't very appealing. He didn't regret ending things with Molly, but he didn't really feel like being alone right now either. Daniel had never really done well being alone. His long list of bed mates was testimony to that. But he was done doing that. What he wanted was a friend - his _best friend_.

Now that he actually had a chance to think about it, he realized how much he actually missed Betty. It seemed strange that he hadn't noticed it before. She was always such a strong, profound presence in his life. And he wanted that presence now.

Daniel pressed the intercom button for the driver and politely asked him to a set a course for Jackson Heights, Queens.

It had started raining by the time he arrived in Queens. The first thing he noticed was the number of people.

There seemed to be a lot of activity at the Suarez house but it wasn't noisy. If anything, it seemed eerily quiet and sombre. Two adjectives he'd never really associated with Betty and her warm, colourful family. Wearing his Harvard sweater now, Daniel slipped the hood on against the rain as he stood on the sidewalk outside the Suarez house, watching. In drips and drabs the people all seemed to come from the same place before they headed inside Betty's family home.

Then he saw her.

She was walking on her own, coming from the same direction as the others, and dressed in a black knit dress instead of her usual brightly coloured combinations.

"Betty!" Daniel called out.

She startled at the sound of his voice and lost her hold on the umbrella she was carrying at the precise moment that a strong gust of wind chose to whip around her, carrying the umbrella away.

Betty stood in the rain as though frozen, raven tresses tangled by the wind and beginning to stick to her face, her pretty crescent mouth in a grim line, like an executioner or saint. And as her shocked gaze met his, Daniel saw in her usually bright eyes, a deep sadness.


	2. Something's broken

**Author's note: **My apologies if the format was awkward on the previous entry. It did not come out quite how I had intended and I'm still getting the hang of all the technical stuff, which buttons to press, here on ffnet. Anyway, on with the story!

**2**

Ignacio Suarez was dead.

Daniel couldn't believe it. Over the years as he'd gotten to know the Suarez family, Ignacio had always been the stalwart. Daniel had felt like he was six years old again and that nothing bad could happen so long as the older Suarez man was around. And he'd never once considered that there may come a day when the warm, caring, generous man would no longer be there.

But now he understood the reason for the sombre mood, so uncharacteristic of the Suarez family, and the number of people present at their home; all there to pay their respects and offer Betty and her family some support.

His greeting with Betty had been a little awkward. She was clearly surprised by his presence there, they hadn't really seen or spoken to each other in 9 months, or had any kind of communication with each other for the last three months. But she'd hugged him and they'd exchanged a few words before he'd followed her into the house.

After that, Betty had been bombarded with people offering their condolences. He'd spotted Hilda and Justin huddled together on the couch. He'd never seen the lively, exuberant boy so still before. Justin was lying with his head in his mother's lap, while Hilda stroked his hair and cried silently. And Daniel desperately wished that there was something he could do to make this better.

His gaze shifted back to Betty and his heart clenched in both sympathy and admiration as he watched her. He knew how close she was to her father, how much her heart must be breaking over his passing. Yet there she stood, putting on a brave face and graciously receiving the words of kindness and comfort from the friends and neighbours around her. But that was Betty. She was always taking care of everyone. When you started to slip, she picked up the slack. Even if it was just as hard for her which, Daniel was certain, this was now.

He felt a little stupid and a little useless, standing idly in the Suarez living room and not really knowing what to do with himself. But he wanted to be there, for Betty, and so he made sure to linger near her, silently offering his support.

Eventually, the people started to leave, giving the Suarez family some privacy. Daniel stayed behind and so did another young man. Daniel had noticed him earlier, circulating amongst the small party, fetching trays of food and at one point he'd brought Betty a cup of tea. But Daniel had never seen him before. He watched as the young man approached Betty now. She was standing in the kitchen, looking a little dazed.

"I fetched some supper for you guys earlier," He said, "It's in the warming draw. Please try and eat something Betty," He rested his hands on her upper arms protectively. "You're going to wear yourself out if you don't."

Betty nodded slightly. "I'll try. Thank you Rahul...for everything."

Rahul didn't say anything, just pulled Betty into a hug. Daniel felt something odd unfurl in his chest as he watched the way Betty clung to the man, Rahul, she'd called him. He kissed her hair gently before letting her go.

"I'm gonna get going now, but if you need anything, I'm only a phone call away alright? I'll check in with you tomorrow."

He kissed her forehead then moved to collect his coat that was resting on the couch. He greeted Justin and Hilda, nodded slightly at Daniel, and then Betty walked with him to see him out. There was the sound of a car engine starting up and then Betty came back in to the living room.

"Did you want something to eat?" Betty said, turning to Daniel. "You've been here a while and you must be hungry? Or were you going to head home now? That's fine too. Thank you for...for staying; but you don't-,"

"Betty," Daniel broke into her rambling, "I'm fine and I'm not going anywhere. Come and sit down, you look like you're about to fall over."

Daniel took her hands in his and gently guided her to sit down with him. At this point, Hilda and Justin excused themselves and headed upstairs.

"Thanks," Betty said quietly, "I didn't get much sleep last night...with everything..." She trailed off.

"Betty I wish you'd called me," Daniel said, still holding her hand. "I haven't heard from you in 3 months, haven't really seen or talked to you in even longer. I wish I'd known what had happened. I hate that you've been going through all this alone," He said earnestly.

Something flickered over Betty's expression then, something that looked almost like anger. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared and Daniel couldn't be sure what he'd seen.

"It's not like there was anything you could have done," She responded softly. "And I wasn't alone. We've had our friends and neighbours. And Rahul's been there for us a lot the last three months."

There was that name again; the man from before. Daniel didn't like the way Betty singled him out, but he quashed the feeling down. There were more important things to worry about. Then he registered just what Betty had said.

"The last three months?" He questioned.

Betty nodded.

"Three months ago, that was when my dad had the stroke. It was pretty bad. He...he wasn't the same afterwards. I don't think he really recovered and then things just got worse. He passed away last week. We had a memorial service for him at the church today, but we're going to Mexico to bury him," Betty's voice cracked on that last word and Daniel saw that there were tears streaming silently down her face.

Without a word, Daniel pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms protectively around her. She tensed at first, but then relaxed against him, her head resting right against his chest. "I'm so sorry Betty," He said gently. They stayed like that for a while; Betty quietly crying into his chest while he rubbed soothing circles into her back. Daniel's thoughts were racing. He hadn't known. Betty had been going through so much and he had been completely oblivious. What if he hadn't decided to come to Queens today? His heart clenched at the thought of him going merrily on his way while his best friend was dealing with all this on her own. But he was here now.

"When are you going to Mexico?" He asked softly, breaking the comfortable silence.

Betty pulled away and left his embrace so she could look at him.

"We're flying out the day after tomorrow," She said, wiping her eyes. Her voice wobbled slightly but she was more composed than she'd been in his arms moments earlier.

"Would you like me to go with you?" He said immediately. Betty gasped in surprise.

"I mean it Betty, if you need me, I'll be there," He said earnestly.

"That's really kind of you Daniel, but I'm, we'll be okay. And I think we kind of need to do this, just us, you know, as a family," She said.

Daniel nodded in understanding. "Of course. I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you. I would have been sooner if I'd known what was happening," There again was that odd flicker of expression in Betty's eyes as he said this. But again, it didn't last and instead she gave him the faintest of smiles.

"It's okay Daniel, but thank you," She said.

Daniel reached for her hand again.

"Well is there anything else I can do? Do you need someone to take you to the airport?"

Betty shook her head.

"Rahul is taking and fetching us from the airport."

"Rahul," Daniel said, once more feeling that strange roiling in his gut. "The guy from before?" He clarified.

Betty nodded.

"I met him not long after I started working at _New World_," She smiled slightly, "and we became friends."

"Does he work for the magazine too?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Not at all," Betty shook her head. "He's over here heading the New York office of his father's company, Sharma Industries. I met him at some media event the company held a few months back."

"You guys seem pretty close," He noted, remembering their intimacy earlier.

"We are. He's friend and family. He's a really great guy."

Daniel felt sad suddenly. All these things had been happening in Betty's life and he'd missed out on all of them. What other new people were there in her life? What else had she been doing? He felt irrationally cheated out of all this and jealous of this Rahul Sharma who had probably been there for all of it.

"Daniel," Betty said, bringing him out of his thoughts. She sounded a little hesitant. "I don't mean to sound rude...and I'm not...I'm just...it's been a hard day and I'm kind of tired..." She trailed off.

"Oh. Oh! Of course," Daniel said, realizing that Betty was asking him to leave. "No, it's fine. Of course you'll want to rest and have some time to... and I...I wasn't thinking, making you keep me company like this," He shook his head slightly.

"It's not that, I'm not kicking you out or anything-"

"Betty its fine," Daniel cut in again. "I didn't want to intrude, I just wanted to make sure that you're gonna be alright. But I'll give you a bit of privacy now."

He got up and started to leave.

"It was really good to see you Betty," He added, stopping by her front door. "I mean, barring the circumstances obviously." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Look, I'll call you tomorrow. And if you need anything, you know how to reach me."

Betty nodded faintly. "Thanks," She said quietly. Her tone was a little flat, but that was probably because she was tired and emotionally worn out by the events of the day. Still, something about it bothered Daniel and he paused again.

"Betty," He said, shifting on his feet slightly, "you do know that you can come to me, right?"

She hesitated for a fraction too long.

He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to contemplate what it might mean.

But he didn't completely believe her when she replied,

"Yes, Daniel. Of course."


	3. The final straw

**Author's note:** Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate your continued support for my little ficlet. This chapter was a monster to write. I'm not entirely sure I was successful, but see what you make of it.

The timeline jumps around a bit. If Daniel's remembering something that happened it will appear in italics. Otherwise, it's taking place in real time. Phone texts are in bold regardless. On with the story! Hopefully this will start to answer some of your questions.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

**4**

Awkward.

That was the only way to describe the current state of his relationship with Betty.

Once, there were never two people more comfortable and in tune with each other than he and Betty. Now, they seemed to be dancing around each other in perpetual estrangement.

"_Knock-knock," Daniel smiled as he leaned in the doorway of her small office._

"_Daniel!" Betty looked up surprised. "What are you doing here?"_

"_That's a nice way to say hello."_

_She had the grace to look a little sheepish._

"_Sorry," She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's just a busy time. I'm in the middle of sorting things out with my Dad's will and trying to catch up on work. It's been a really long day."_

_Daniel frowned, immediately concerned._

"_Are you sure you should be coming back to work so soon? It's only been two weeks since..." He trailed off awkwardly._

"_My father's funeral, Daniel," Betty supplied matter-of-factly. _

_Despite himself, Daniel couldn't help flinching at her blunt tone._

"_Yeah, that," He said lamely. _

"_You can say it you know," She huffed out an exasperated breath. "If you're speaking with your eyes you might as well say it with your mouth."_

"_Betty, I-"_

_She sighed again and spoke a little more gently._

"_It's alright Daniel. I don't mean to be...I'm sorry if I seem..." She struggled over the words._

_Daniel took a step towards her._

"_Betty, is everything ok? With us, I mean," He asked tentatively._

_At his words, her gaze snapped back to him; an edge of...something seemed to linger in her expression. But she quickly pasted on that smile he was beginning to hate, masking it._

"_Of course, Daniel. I've just got a lot on my plate right now. I'm a little stressed, that's all."_

_He nodded slightly._

"_That reminds me, why I stopped by in the first place. I thought maybe we could head to my place after work, have a little dinner. I can't cook to save my life, but I do own an impressive collection of take-out menus," He smiled at her._

"_I remember," Betty said softly, her expression almost wistful._

"_Is that a yes then?" He asked hopefully. "I thought you could do with some down time from...everything."_

_Betty hesitated and she was making 'the face', as he'd coined the term. He hated 'the face' even more than 'the smile'. He knew what was coming. _

"_I'm sorry Daniel," She started, "that's awfully sweet, but I was planning on a late night. Make some headway on the work I've missed. Can we take a rain-cheque? Besides, I'm not very good company at the moment."_

He'd let it go at that, albeit very reluctantly, but he hadn't pushed the issue any further.

Daniel knew that something was bothering Betty.

Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't wholly unobservant. Particularly with something that mattered a great deal to him. But he was hoping that, eventually, Betty would come to him about what was troubling her.

So he didn't push her, masking his hurt at her rejection with a smile of his own. And he'd pretended not to mind when he'd spotted her in the Meade lobby, walking out with Rahul at the end of that day. The pair hadn't seen him, but he'd been in a perfect position to observe them.

"_Rahul, I told you. I've got a lot of work to do," He heard her protesting._

"_I'm sorry Betty, but I'm not taking no for an answer. You've been on your feet all day and I know you barely slept last night. There's no way I'm leaving you to work all night."_

"_Rahul-"_

"_Don't try to argue with me Betty, you know what I'm like, it doesn't work."_

"_Do you always have to be this stubborn?"_

"_It's a gift."_

"_More like a curse," Betty grumbled._

"_Oh you're a regular comedian Betty Suarez," Rahul's voice teased, "you should take your show on the road."_

"_I'm not in the mood Rahul. I'm tired."_

"_I know," He sounded more serious now. "That's the point. You're exhausted Betty. You're so busy trying to take care of everyone else, but you need to look after yourself too. So I'm taking you home for some supper and then some sleep. Understood?"_

"_It's not like I have a choice."_

"_Now she gets it. Hey!" Rahul rubbed at his arm where Betty had playfully slapped him._

They'd disappeared through the lobby doors, joining the crowds milling outside on the pavement. The next day Daniel had tried again with Betty.

He'd tried for lunch this time and when that didn't work, he watered his request down to coffee later in the week. He'd been hopeful when she'd agreed at first and then dejected when she'd called to cancel, just half an hour before they'd been supposed to meet.

Over the weekend though, it seemed that they might be turning a corner.

He'd sent her a text, as was his habit the last week or so, just to see how she was doing.

**Daniel Meade: Hey. Just checking in. How's the weekend going?**

**Betty Suarez: Everything's fine. Going through Dad's things.**

**Daniel Meade: By yourself?**

**Betty Suarez: Why shouldn't I do it by myself?**

Daniel had hesitated over how to respond next. In the end, he'd decided an indirect approach would be best.

**Daniel Meade: Where's Hilda?**

He'd pretended to move on from the previous topic.

**Betty Suarez: Doctor. Justin's down with flu.**

**Daniel Meade: That can't be fun. **

**Betty Suarez: No. He's a trooper though.**

He'd paused slightly before hitting send on his next text.

**Daniel Meade: Do you want some help?**

He hadn't bothered to elaborate. She'd know what he'd meant. The reply didn't come through for a good ten minutes. Just when he'd been about to give up, his phone had beeped.

Daniel had pounced.

**Betty Suarez: Ok.**

He had never been so happy to receive a text in his life.

Twenty minutes later, he was at the Suarez house; helping Betty pack and make decisions about which of her father's belongings to keep or give away. Rahul had shown up at some point and, between the three of them, they had gotten through Ignacio's things pretty quickly. The other man had gone to fetch some food for them then, leaving Daniel and Betty on their own.

And as he'd sat with her on the familiar, worn sofa, it had started to feel like maybe things were getting back to normal again.

* * *

Betty was upset.

The way she was noisily banging her desk drawers as she searched for something was a pretty good giveaway. Then there was the fact that she knew he was standing there and yet hadn't acknowledged him. Taking in the tense line of her shoulders, Daniel cleared his throat.

"Hey," He began tentatively and took a step towards her.

"Hi," Betty looked up at him and then straight back down at whatever document was lying on her desk.

Daniel sighed.

"Do we have to do this?" He said tiredly.

"Do what?" She still wouldn't look at him.

"Betty, stop it. I know you're upset. I've been trying to call you all afternoon. So can we please just skip the part where you give me the silent treatment and just talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"At least let me explain myself."

She paused at this. Slowly, Betty looked up to meet his gaze, her expression unreadable. She didn't say anything and Daniel took her continued silence for acquiescence.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel prepared to make his case. Betty's uncharacteristic coolness was unsettling. They'd had arguments before but she had never been this cold towards him. He felt nervous, like something important was about to happen and it depended entirely on what he said next. It was very disconcerting.

Ignoring the sudden tightening in his chest, Daniel pushed on.

"I know I was supposed to go with you to the solicitor's office today. And I wanted to, you have to know that. I should have been there for you today and I'm sorry. But it was out of my hands. The presentation with Shimmer got moved and you know how long we've been trying to get her for MODE. I couldn't responsibly miss that meeting. But it's not like I deliberately blew you off or didn't care. I called you right afterwards to ask you what had happened, what he said about your dad's house, to see if everything was ok."

"How infinitely selfless and generous of you," Betty retorted curtly.

Daniel felt as though he'd been slapped.

"What's going on Betty?" He said, taken aback. "I know I should have been there this morning, but surely you can see, it's not like I had a choice in the matter. I don't I think I deserve this harsh a reaction."

Betty had been growing tenser and tenser as they argued. She was so tightly coiled with tension that Daniel feared she might shatter from it.

"You aren't really stupid enough to think this is just because of what happened today," She bit out.

Daniel blinked and looked at her blankly. This was evidently the wrong move. Betty's face changed and her coldness exploded into a burst of heated rage.

"I can't believe you don't even know what I'm talking about!" She made an outraged gesture with her hands.

The feeling of guilt and remorse in his chest was quickly beginning to transform into a surge of annoyance. He was tired of her being cryptic all the time, of being shut out. Whatever was going on here, he wasn't the only one who had contributed to this situation.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" He snapped back. "I don't know what's going on with you anymore!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"Damn it, Betty!" Daniel said harshly, "if you have something to say, just say it!"

She said it.

"Daniel, I tried. I mean, I really tried. But I can't just keep pretending that nothing's changed. I haven't seen or heard from you in practically 9 months! 9 months! I had to leave your birthday present with your assistant, you never bothered to return my calls, and now that you've suddenly got time for me again, I'm just supposed to happily fall in line and be ok with the situation?"

Daniel's mouth fell open in shock and he felt like a heavy blow had slammed into him.

"Betty," He swallowed hard over the rising emotion, "I didn't realise, I didn't know..."

"You didn't bother to find out," she continued heatedly. "You pay attention when it's convenient for you. But the minute you've got something going on, the minute something else comes along, you're completely emotionally unavailable! In the end, does our friendship mean that little to you?"

"Betty, don't blow this out of proportion," Daniel said urgently, feeling a heavy weight in his chest begin to spiral up into a throbbing of dread. "You know how much I've always needed you. You know what I'd be without you."

Betty released a strange noise.

"Do you hear yourself?" She cried out in frustration. "It's all about you! What you need, what you'd be."

She was almost shaking with the force of her stormy emotions.

Daniel felt himself freeze. He couldn't understand how this was happening. He couldn't understand how he'd been so blind to let this happen.

Betty released a shaky sigh, her anger seemingly spent for the moment.

"Do you know that I called you the night it happened? The night my father had the stroke," She said quietly. "I was at home alone with him. Hilda and Justin had gone to see a movie, I couldn't reach them right away."

Daniel felt something sharp twist in his gut as he remembered the last call he'd missed from her. The call he'd meant to return but never did. He was beginning to understand now why she hadn't gotten in touch with him again after that.

"Rahul was about to get on a plane to London," She continued, "but he dropped everything and stayed with me at the hospital that night. And my colleagues at _New World_, they called to check in on me. One or two of them even came by."

Daniel couldn't quite meet her gaze, knowing where she was going with this.

"But Daniel Meade, my best friend? After all this time, he's nothing to me but a missed call and a voice message left on a machine."

She looked sad. Looked diminished and defeated.

Daniel wanted to hug her but he couldn't get his body to move.

He was starting to understand her now. She wasn't just angry, she was unspeakably hurt.

Because of him.

He'd taken her for granted, assumed she'd always just be there without really giving her a reason to be. What's more he'd made her think she didn't matter, think she wasn't important to him. She'd been scared and alone, and he hadn't been there. That knowledge absolutely annihilated him from the inside out.

Betty was getting her things together, preparing to leave. As she moved past him, Daniel grabbed her wrist urgently, stopping her.

"Betty, I've made some mistakes, I can see that. But had I known what was going on, what you were going through, you have to know that I would have come to you; I would have been there," He said roughly, his voice thick with emotion.

Betty gently tugged her wrist from his grip and gave him a sad smile.

"And I suppose it never occurred to you, Daniel, that I might need you anyway, even if my dad hadn't been sick."


	4. Mend it or end it

**Author's note:** Once more, thank you so much for taking the time to leave some feedback. And to anyone just reading, I appreciate that too. Thanks for sparing some time for my little ficlet. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter :).

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter. Also, the Kolkata Knight Riders do not belong to me. I don't know who does own them, but it ain't me. No copyright infringement intended. So please don't sue me! ;)

* * *

**5**

Daniel thought his face was going to crack.

He'd been smiling and nodding at something Cal Hartley was saying, letting the man carry on a fairly one-sided conversation about one of Hartley Industries latest projects.

He had not wanted to come to this fundraiser, but it was good PR for Meade and since he was the public face of the company he figured he had a responsibility to go. Daniel snorted inwardly at the thought. Three years ago, he would have ditched his work obligations without a second thought, responsibility be damned. But Betty had changed that.

Betty.

Daniel felt something twist in his chest at the thought of his friend. Cal Hartley continued talking. He nodded his head and made a monosyllabic reply.

It had been a month since that horrible afternoon in her office when everything had fallen apart. Daniel had spent the next week trying to talk to Betty but she had been avoiding him.

"Of course," Daniel murmured, when he noticed Hartley pause as though he was expecting a response. The other man continued his monologue and Daniel returned to his thoughts.

After he'd gotten past his own shock, anger and hurt at what had happened, Daniel realised that Betty did have a valid point. He'd been incredibly selfish. He'd been so busy with his own work and priorities that he'd never even considered her. No wonder she'd finally gotten fed up with him. That of course, was putting it mildly. Daniel hadn't known how much hurt he'd inflicted until the words had fallen from her lips,

"_... nothing to me but a missed call and voice message left on a machine..."_

How those words tormented him. Daniel gulped down the remaining alcohol in his champagne flute. It wasn't a very polite gesture, but Hartley was too busy talking to notice.

Wishing he could just go home, Daniel idly scanned the large room, looking at the various socialites gathered. That was when he spotted Rahul Sharma, on the other side of the room, talking to some older gentleman that Daniel vaguely recognised. Rahul turned slightly and purposely met Daniel's gaze, nodding at him in acknowledgement with a polite, social smile.

At this point Victoria Hartley had wondered over looking for her husband. Seizing his chance, Daniel said something polite and generic to them, then made his escape.

* * *

Rahul found him at the bar.

He was on his third Scotch when the other man leaned against the counter next to him.

"Mind if I join you?" He spoke casually. His expression was anything but.

Daniel nodded his agreement with the distinct feeling that he didn't really have a choice to begin with. Rahul had sought him out for a reason.

"So is this the part where you call me an insensitive jerk and tell me that I don't deserve her?" He already sounded defeated, even to his own ears.

Rahul raised his eyebrows in response; his dark eyes practically boring holes into Daniel.

Cowering slightly under the other man's expectant gaze, Daniel focused on his glass.

"Look, I know I haven't treated Betty as I should," He continued. "I messed up," Daniel laughed slightly, without mirth; a strange, hollow sound. "That's what I do. And I'm not expecting her to forgive me. She's probably better off without me-"

"You sound like a whining brat," Rahul murmured dryly, interrupting him.

Daniel frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me the first time, I'm not going to repeat it," Rahul said matter-of-factly. "I'm not interested in throwing you a pity party Daniel. And I'm not here to tell you just how poorly you treated Betty. You already know that. So what are you going to do about it?"

Daniel took another sip of his scotch.

"There's nothing I can do," He said bitterly. "Betty doesn't want anything to do with me."

"No. She's extremely hurt and upset with you, there's a difference," Rahul countered. "Did you even try to talk to her again? Or have you just been skulking around trying to drown your sorrows?" He looked significantly at the glass in Daniel's hand.

"I tried," Daniel bit out. He was starting to get annoyed. "For a whole week after it happened I tried. It didn't make any difference."

"So try again," Rahul said bluntly, "and stop hiding behind the excuse that you're supposedly second rate and there's nothing you can do about it. We both know that's not exactly true."

Daniel actually grunted at this.

"What would be the point? Betty hates me," He swallowed hard over the sudden lump in his throat, trying to ignore how much that hurt for him to say. "Anyway, she's got you now."

"Yes, and she'll always have me," Rahul said firmly. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't need you too. This isn't an either-or situation Daniel. And she doesn't hate you."

"Why do you care so much anyway? Why would you even want Betty to be friends with someone like me?" Daniel said, his melancholy giving way to curiosity for a moment.

Rahul smiled faintly.

"I'll admit I'm not exactly a fan of yours Daniel. But I don't think you're a bad guy either. Betty would never have been friends with you in the first place if that was the case. Besides, what I want is irrelevant. This is about Betty. You matter to her, and she matters to me. And I'm tired of seeing her hurt and upset because of this."

Daniel looked down at the bar counter in front of him.

"How's she been doing?" He asked softly.

"She's doing better. As well as can be expected given the circumstances. But I really think it would help for the two of you to talk. Don't just let her push you away," Rahul spoke in earnest.

"And then what? Things are just going to magically go back to how they were?" Daniel said sceptically.

"Of course not," Rahul said impatiently, as though he were dealing with a petulant child. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy. You're going to have to earn her trust again, and it's going to take time. But eventually, you guys will be able to move past this."

"What makes you so sure?" Daniel said tentatively, trying to ignore the tiny flicker of hope that sprung up at Rahul's words.

"Because Betty is one of the kindest, most forgiving people I know; because she's your best friend; and because in the past year, not a day's gone by when she hasn't mentioned you. I don't think either of you are ready to discount everything you've been through together, your entire friendship, over this."

Daniel was quiet, his glass of scotch once more the most fascinating thing in the room.

"Well, Daniel?" Rahul spoke into the silence. "Are you?"

* * *

He started texting her.

Try as he might, Daniel couldn't ignore the words Rahul had spoken to him that night or the feelings that they inspired. The other man had been right. He wasn't ready to let go of Betty, to give up the friendship they'd built over the last three years. There were few people left in his life that Daniel cared about, but Betty was most definitely one of them. She was important to him. He just hadn't been acting like it.

But now he was ready to remedy the situation.

It wasn't going to be easy. He had caused a lot of hurt and had a lot to make up for. Betty wasn't simply just going to be okay with everything because he had decided he was ready to be a better friend to her. That didn't mean he was just going to give up though. Betty had never given up on him, no matter how many times he'd given her plenty of reasons to do just that. He figured it was time he returned the favour. Because Daniel absolutely refused to accept a reality where Betty wasn't a part of his life.

So he started small. Every night, at exactly the same time, he sent her a text.

He figured that would be the least intrusive. She could answer if she chose to and she wouldn't even have to read it if she didn't want to. But it also let her know that he still cared about her, he was thinking about her, that he wasn't giving up.

He couldn't deny that it hurt each time she didn't respond, or that the flicker of hope he'd felt while talking to Rahul got crushed a little more after each "rejection". But he pushed past it, refusing to give in to pity, and kept sending the texts. He tried to take some comfort in the fact that while she hadn't acknowledged his texts, she hadn't told him to piss off and leave her the hell alone either.

Still, it was hard not to feel like he was on a fool's errand sometimes. After three weeks of this, Daniel wondered if he should switch tactics. They did work in the same building after all and it would be easy to just ambush her in her office. There was only so much Betty could do to avoid him there. He didn't really want to force her into a confrontation though.

On the other hand, it was almost two months now since they'd last spoken and he was beginning to feel a little desperate. Pulling out his cellphone, Daniel sent her his customary text while he mulled it over.

Then something astonishing happened.

He was on his way to the shower when his phone made that unmistakeable _beep-beep! _sound, signalling he had a new message. Daniel froze and looked back at where the little electronic device was resting innocuously on the nightstand. Trying not to get too excited, he snatched the phone up and quickly accessed the message.

**Betty Suarez: Hi. I'd like to talk. Can you come over?**

He was already out the door before he even finished typing the words, '**On my way'.**

* * *

Daniel was beginning to rethink his decision not to have that coffee Betty had offered.

He didn't actually want it but it would have given him a little more time to get himself together while she made it. Pathetic, he knew it, that he was actually scared to talk to his best friend. But Daniel couldn't help but feel that the conversation they were about to have was going to decide the rest of their relationship. When he left here tonight, he'd either still have his best friend or she would be lost to him forever. And if it was going to be the latter, he wanted to put it off for as long as possible, even if that only meant a few extra minutes to make a pot of coffee.

But he hadn't done that and now they were sitting in her small living room. Daniel had never been to Betty's apartment before. He realised she must have moved out of her family home not long after she started working at _New World_. It looked like her he noticed: warm, colourful, and a little bit quirky.

He was on the sofa now and she was sitting in the small armchair opposite him. She couldn't quite meet his gaze, looking somewhere just above his shoulder. Daniel on the other hand couldn't stop looking at her, just drinking her in.

She was dressed casually, wearing pyjama pants with cute little bunny rabbits on them and an oversized Kolkata Knight Riders cricket shirt that Daniel suspected belonged to Rahul. Her hair was pulled up away from her face in a messy, high pony tail. And of course she was wearing her signature red-frame glasses. She looked young and pretty. But she'd lost some weight and was a little paler than he remembered. Obviously from all the stress and upheaval she'd been going through lately. Of which he was no small part of.

Daniel cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Betty-"

"Daniel-" They both started at the same time and then exchanged a sheepish smile.

"Sorry," Betty said, twisting her hands in her lap slightly, "go ahead."

Daniel sighed.

"I'm not really sure what to say," He admitted. "Somehow 'I'm sorry' doesn't seem to quite do it justice you know?"

Betty didn't say anything in response, just watched him quietly. Daniel drew in a deep breath.

"Betty, I know that there's nothing I can say that will make up for the way I've acted. I never intended to hurt you, to make you feel that you didn't matter to me, but that's exactly what I did. And I'm so sorry for that. I was a selfish idiot. I've taken you for granted and never once stopped to consider what it meant for you. And I know that I've probably lost your trust in the process. But I don't want to be that way anymore. I won't be that way anymore. I know I haven't been acting like it, but you mean a lot to me. So I'll do whatever it takes to get you to trust me again, to show you that I'm not a missed call and a voice message left on a machine anymore."

He heard Betty's breath hitch slightly as he repeated her words from before.

Daniel swallowed nervously and his mouth felt as dry as cotton.

"Do you think...do you think you could ever forgive me?" He asked.

Betty sighed.

"I can forgive you Daniel," She said, "I will forgive you. But trusting you again, I'm not so sure."

Daniel felt his chest tighten painfully at her words. He had half been expecting this, but still, nothing could have prepared him for how much that hurt.

"Oh...I see..." He said shakily, not really knowing what to do or say next. Betty, however, continued speaking.

"The thing is, I could trust you again," She said, and Daniel felt that flicker of hope once more spring to life, "it's just, I'm not sure that I want to."

Daniel's hope promptly deflated. "Oh," he said again, this time his dejection was evident in his tone.

Betty frowned at him.

"You really hurt me," She said, a little anger creeping into her tone. "I had thought we were friends, I thought you cared about me. But then you just dropped me. I hadn't thought we were like that."

"Betty, it _wasn't_ like that," Daniel said urgently, "we weren't like that. And I hate myself for making you think that, for making you feel that way. I would give anything, anything to do it all over. I'm so, so sorry Betty."

"I know you are," She gave him a sad smile. "But a lot has changed in the last year and I'm not the same person that I was now."

Betty took a deep breath and Daniel waited. This was it; the defining moment.

"So, if you're serious, you'll have to get to know me as I am now. And I'll have to get to know you as you are now. And then we'll just see."

"Really?" he breathed, all of his desperate hope now palpable in that one word. "We can try and get back to the way we were before?"

Betty frowned.

"No we can't Daniel." He actually jerked back, as though her words had been a physical blow.

"Don't misunderstand me," She went on hurriedly, evidently seeing something in his expression that reflected the hurt he'd felt. "What I mean is, we've got to do it differently this time. The way we were before didn't work. How do you think we got here? So we can't fall into the same old patterns."

"Okay," Daniel said, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "So what do you want me to do? Anything Betty, just let me know what I can do to fix this."

She smiled slightly.

"Daniel, I don't want you to jump through a bunch of hoops or anything. If we're going to be friends, it's got to be a two-way street. This means I've also got to be better about coming to you when something's bothering me, instead of trying to handle it on my own."

"Betty, you haven't done anything wrong," Daniel immediately protested. "None of this is your fault, its mine. I-"

"Daniel, I'm hardly perfect. I'm not saying you did nothing wrong, or that you're off the hook or anything. But I contributed to the situation also. I should have said something to you about how I was feeling. The fact that I didn't just made the whole thing worse. So _I'm_ sorry for that," She said earnestly.

"Okay," Daniel said a little awkwardly. He still didn't feel that she should be apologizing to him.

"So..." He started tentatively, "do you think maybe we could have lunch tomorrow?"

Betty made 'the face'.

"Daniel..."

"Its fine," He said quickly, raising a hand to cover his eyes so he could hide their expression from her. "It's too soon, I understand."

"It is too soon," Betty admitted. "I still feel a little hurt and resentful towards you. And maybe that's unfair, but its how I feel. I just need a little more time ok?"

"Ok," Daniel said, feeling a little better. "But... you think you'll be able to get past it?" He added.

"I know I will," Betty said firmly.

"And you want to try? You want to be friends again?" He added, still needing a little reassurance.

"I want to try," Betty confirmed. "You mean a lot to me too, Daniel. I want us to be...normal again. I want my friend back."

Daniel smiled.

* * *

**AN: **I don't know if anyone reading follows cricket, but the Kolkata Knight Riders are an international team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).


	5. Sea change

**Author's Note: **A big thank you to those of you kind enough to leave some feedback. I really enjoy hearing your thoughts on and feelings about the story. And to anyone just reading, I really appreciate that too. Thank you for giving my story a chance**. **

You'll notice I've posted two new chapters for this story. That's because they were originally all part of one chapter but for the purposes of narrative flow, I decided to split it into two. Some big developments take place over these two chapters. Although this chapter is predominantly Daniel's internal monologue. Still, his reflections are significant. And I'll stop rambling now and let you get on with it! ;)

PS Betty's phone conversation is in italics.

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter. I'm pretty sure I still own absolutely nothing.

* * *

**6**

_Rahul? Hi!_

Daniel could hear Betty answer the phone while he paid the delivery guy. It was Friday night and they were hanging out at her apartment.

_You're back!_

He heard Betty squeal slightly in delight as he started packing out the take-out containers on the coffee table.

Rahul must have said something then because Betty's next response was:

_Really? That's so sweet. I love spending time with your mom too. I'm glad your parents liked it._

Daniel went to fetch some glasses from the kitchen.

_Their anniversary on the 20th? Yeah I'd love to. It would be great to see them again. I haven't used any of my leave yet so I'm sure I could get a few days off. And hey! It'll be cricket season right?_

Betty paused while Rahul said something on the other end of the line and Daniel searched for some wine.

_Well great, then maybe you can take me to a live match while we're there._ Betty laughed in response to something Rahul said. _I guess it grew on me._

Daniel glanced at Betty as he finished uncorking a bottle of wine.

_Hey! I'm a modern, progressive woman!_ She was laughing again. Then her gaze met his.

_Uh listen Rahul, I've actually got to go now._ She was looking at Daniel waiting by the couch for her, their supper neatly laid out.

_Yeah._

She murmured in response to something Rahul said then,

_So I'll see you tomorrow then...no, no, just come straight over...no, that's fine, we can have a late dinner and you can tell me this exciting news of yours...alright...yeah, can't wait...bye._

Betty snapped her phone shut and then moved over to the couch, a slightly guilty smile on her face.

"Sorry about that Daniel," She said sheepishly. "That was a little rude of me."

Daniel shrugged it off.

"Don't worry about it Betty. Rahul's been away for what? A month now, right?" She nodded. "I know how close you guys are; of course you'll want to talk to him now that he's back."

Daniel wanted to give himself a pat on the back for being so magnanimous. Truthfully, he was a little bit irritated by the phone call intruding on what he considered his time with Betty.

But that was just a silly, selfish impulse and he quickly quashed it. He and Rahul weren't quite friends, but they got along well enough. And the other man had always given him and Betty their space, which Daniel appreciated.

In fact, more often than not, he was the one encroaching on Betty and Rahul's relationship; probably because he was still a little insecure, a little scared of being pushed out and becoming second best again like he'd always been with his father when it came to Alex.

Although, in the last few months, Daniel had started to become aware of another reason why he was bothered by the closeness Rahul and Betty shared. But he didn't want to look too closely at that yet.

"I was a little surprised you wanted to get together tonight," Betty started speaking, pulling him from his thoughts. "I thought you'd have plans with Cordelia."

Daniel groaned slightly. He'd started dating again in the last few months and had one or two brief romances, but nothing particularly significant had developed.

"Uh, yeah. Actually, we broke up," He admitted, helping himself to some chicken korma.

Betty froze; her fork halfway to her mouth and her eyes comically wide. She looked like a very cute goldfish.

"What? When?" She said, putting her fork done. "I thought you said you really liked her, that things were going well."

"They were," Daniel said, absently rubbing the back of his neck and not really wanting to get into this.

"So what happened?"

Daniel sighed.

"It just wasn't enough, I guess, for either of us."

Betty looked thoughtful. "But you're ok?" She said. "I mean, you're not heartbroken or upset or anything? Or should I expect to get some fake postcards from Rio while you're actually hiding in your closet?"

Daniel mock glared at Betty who didn't even bother to hide a teasing smile.

"One time, that was one time! You're never going to let me live that down are you? And I was only in the closet because I was trying to hide before you caught me in my dressing gown."

Betty shot him an amused look.

"I always thought the point of an excuse was to make yourself look better, not worse."

Daniel flicked a straw paper at her.

"Hey!" She giggled and Daniel smiled. "But seriously," Betty continued, "you're okay about it?"

"Yes, I'm okay," Daniel nodded. "It was an amicable break-up, more or less."

Betty arched an eyebrow at Daniel but she didn't push him when he didn't elaborate.

Cordelia hadn't exactly wished him well or been happy about the time they'd spent together.

She'd gotten mad at him for zoning out on her while they were having dinner. It wasn't exactly the first time it had happened in the three months they'd been together. This had prompted an argument, which had escalated until she'd finally stormed out on him, declared it was over, and called him an immature coward for wasting her time instead of going after the woman he really wanted.

But Daniel didn't feel the need to tell Betty all that. One, because he wasn't actually upset by it; it didn't really matter to him. And two, Cordelia kind of had a point.

He hadn't been all there while they had dated.

It had been exactly the same with the two women he'd dated before Cordelia. They had all been lovely, smart, beautiful women; they'd had lots in common, they'd been easy and fun to be around. And yet, it hadn't been enough. Something was still somehow lacking.

In the last few weeks, Daniel had slowly begun to realise what that was. None of them were _her. _

He looked over at Betty beside him as she tore off a piece of naan bread, and animatedly told him a funny anecdote about something that had happened at work that week.

She was still dressed in her office clothes, her dress slightly wrinkled now after a long day. She'd taken off her shoes and tights, sitting instead with her bare legs neatly tucked under her. Her raven tresses had started coming undone from the French twist she'd pulled them up into, a few stray tendrils resting against her neck.

She idly licked a bit of sauce off her thumb as she continued her story, eyes bright, smile uninhibited as she laughed. She got a little too excited with her hand gestures, nearly knocking one of the little curry containers into her lap, her cheeks colouring prettily as she realised her narrow escape.

She was a far cry from the sleek, urban, perfectly put together women he was used to. Even Molly, although she'd been very down-to-earth, had had a certain sophistication about her.

Betty was lively and animated; she talked a lot, she smiled even more; she was unreserved in her affections and wore her heart on her sleeve. She was stubborn to the point of being infuriating, hard in her judgement but even more generous in her praise. She was witty, and awkward, and clumsy, and sometimes hopelessly naive.

In short, she was glorious.

Daniel wasn't sure when he'd started to think of Betty in a way that wasn't strictly platonic.

He'd been shocked the first time he'd found himself looking at Betty with a purely male appreciation. And it certainly hadn't helped that this realization had occurred in the middle of a budget meeting with Wilhelmina and the rest of the editorial staff. Oh well. They were used to him making an ass of himself by now, although those instances had grown rarer over the years.

Once he'd had a chance to think through things, he'd realised it wasn't necessarily such a big deal.

After all, he was a _man_ and Betty had grown into a very attractive woman. It was only natural that he would be attracted to her. Hell, maybe he always had been. He just hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge it because, at the time, they'd worked together and there'd been all sorts of invisible lines drawn that he didn't cross. But it didn't need to mean anything more significant.

He'd gone merrily on this track for the next few months until he'd started to notice other things. Like the fact that when he was out on a date with Cordelia, he'd be wondering what Betty was doing. Or if he had the choice between an intimate evening with his beautiful girlfriend, or an evening on the sofa watching Jeopardy with his best friend, Betty and the quiz show would win hands down every time.

Daniel wanted to be with her, to please her, wanted to take care of her. He didn't know how it had happened, but sometime during the last year while he and Betty had been rebuilding their friendship, he'd started to want more than just a platonic relationship with her.

But he had not yet decided what to do with these feelings.

He and Betty had just gotten their friendship back on solid ground. So Daniel was a little bit wary of rocking the boat by putting the suggestion of a romantic relationship on the table. He was also concerned that Betty's romantic interests may already lie elsewhere.

Rahul and Betty were not dating, but the affection they held for each other seemed to go deeper than any bond of friendship. Daniel, however, just could not tell whether Betty was in love with the other man or not.

He could just ask her, but he was a little afraid of the answer. If she was in love with Rahul then he didn't stand a snow ball's chance. And he figured if that was the case, it would only be a matter of time before she and Rahul made a happy announcement. In which case, he'd like to enjoy the bliss of ignorance for as long as he could before his inevitable heartbreak.

However, if she wasn't in love with Rahul then maybe, just maybe there was a little hope...

"Daniel?" Betty broke into his musings. From the way she drew his name out, it sounded like she'd been trying to get his attention for a while.

"Sorry," He blinked, "I spaced out there for a minute."

"No kidding," Betty gave him an odd look. "You're not turning all silent and brooding on me are you? Cause, no offense, but you're too much of a goofball to pull off the whole strong, sexy, silent type."

"Hey!" Daniel promptly threw one of the sofa cushions at her in retaliation.

It hit her smack in the face, knocking her glasses a little skew and mussing her hair. Betty gaped at him in indignation for a moment, before breaking out into a gleeful smile.

"See? That just proved my point. You _are_ a goofball."

"But that doesn't mean I'm not sexy."

Betty rolled her eyes. "Of course; that's what you'd focus on."

"So you don't think I'm sexy?" Daniel pressed.

"I didn't say that."

"So you _do_ think I'm sexy?" He smirked.

"Well...I, uh...I mean..." Betty struggled, and Daniel's smirk widened. He found it equally amusing and attractive to see how her cheeks coloured prettily and her doe eyes widened when she was flustered.

"Oh fine!" She blew out an irritated breath, seemingly fed up with her own inarticulateness, "You're a sexy goofball," She conceded.

Daniel laughed.

"You're not so bad yourself." Betty blushed again and, deciding to go easy on her, Daniel moved them swiftly on by asking her to pass the rice.

For once, Daniel decided to just enjoy the moment and relax.

He didn't know what was going to happen with his relationship with Betty. But he didn't need to pine over everything like some angst-ridden teenager with a crush, and he didn't need to figure everything out at once.

He had time.

For now, he'd enjoy being with his friend and quietly carry the hope that one day there could be more.


	6. Every time we say goodbye

**Author's note:** Okay, so the timeline jumps around again in this chapter. As usual, if Daniel is remembering something, its in italics. Phone texts are in bold and the dialogue from the film on Daniel's tv is in bold italics. I've also deployed some signature Daniel/Betty moments from season 1 and season 4 canon in this chapter. Not sure how well it works, but see what you make of it. On with the story!

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing. I do not own _Breakfast at Tiffany's. _No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**7**

He didn't have time.

In a few short weeks, what he'd thought was the most stable force in his life was, once again, shifting beneath his feet.

Somebody up there really didn't like him.

* * *

"_So, what's this big news of yours?" Daniel asked cheerfully._

_He and Betty had gone out for dinner after work to some pizza place that had bad karaoke._

_At his question, Betty actually looked a little nervous. She sipped at her water before meeting his gaze._

"_Rahul's moving back to London," She started. "His time in New York was always meant to be temporary. Now that he's confident things here are in good hands, there's no need for him to stay. So he's going back to the London office."_

_Well that brought him up short. _

"_Oh," He said a little lamely, not sure how exactly he was meant to respond._

_This was unexpected. _

_His first thought was concern. Betty had had a very hard year, losing her father and then almost losing him because of his own idiotic behaviour. How would she feel when Rahul was no longer a part of her day-to-day life? There was clearly a deep attachment between the two of them. He also wondered what this meant for the potential Rahul-Betty romance, and a part of him couldn't help hoping that maybe they'd call it quits on whatever budding relationship they'd been building._

"_Yeah," Betty murmured. "The thing is; he's sort of asked me to go with."_

_Daniel almost dropped his glass. _

_So much for calling it quits. Forcing himself not to betray the rising panic he felt, Daniel kept his expression carefully neutral._

"_What do you mean exactly, he's asked you to go with him?" He asked far more calmly than he felt._

"_Well, he's offered me a job opportunity. Sharma Industries has just acquired Storm Media as part of its communications arm. It turns out that Storm Media is looking to develop a new magazine, targeted at the young professional. A bit like MYW I guess, maybe a little edgier; they want it to bring something fresh and new to that kind of media."_

"_Ok," Daniel swallowed hard, "so how does this relate to the job Rahul offered you?"_

"_Rahul recommended me to be the one to run it. I got a call from Dylan Kennedy, the head of Storm Media, last week. Apparently he was aware of my work and with Rahul's recommendation they were interested in offering me the position."_

_Daniel's head was spinning. He had no idea how he was supposed to be feeling._

"_Wow, Betty...that's uh...congratulations, I guess," He managed to choke out._

"_Well, I haven't gotten the job yet." Daniel wondered if it made him a bad person that he felt a little hopeful at that._

"_I've got to go for an interview next week," She explained. "But if that goes well..."_

"_You'll take it," Daniel finished for her._

_In the pregnant silence that followed, Daniel was oddly aware of the refrain of Sonny & Cher's I've Got You Babe drifting over them. The irony was not lost on him._

For the next two weeks, Daniel was on tenterhooks. He was torn between his desire for Betty's happiness and the fulfilment of his own.

Betty had always wanted to run her own magazine, and the fact that she'd have the chance to do so this soon was an amazing opportunity for her. On the other hand, it was hard to be completely happy about something that would take her away from him, in a very literal sense.

Why the hell did the job have to be in London?

But Daniel was careful to keep these sentiments hidden from Betty. With her he was all smiles, reassurance and encouragement. Although he very nearly gave her his cheesy thumbs up the morning before her interview.

Thank god he'd restrained that impulse. It would have been a dead giveaway.

The week following her interview was even worse as he waited for his fate to be decided.

He was in his apartment, staring blindly at his television where an old NBA game was on and trying to relax, when he received her text.

**Betty Suarez: I got the job :) .**

It had taken him a solid fifteen minutes before he'd been able to compose an appropriate, upbeat reply.

He'd spent the rest of the evening schooling himself on being supportive and positive when he next saw Betty. This wasn't about him and he needed to put her wishes before his own.

So the following night, he took her out to celebrate. They went to see a Broadway show, he took her to dinner, and then finally to a little speciality dessert shop in Brooklyn. It was a nice night out and Betty had wanted to walk around some more, so they got some gelato to go and wound up on Brooklyn Bridge.

"_I've actually never seen the city from this side of the river before," Daniel murmured._

"_Really?" Betty said; her voice mild. "It's the only way I've ever seen it." She sounded fondly nostalgic._

_They stood quietly side by side, a not entirely comfortable silence settling on them. Daniel was wrapped up in his own thoughts and yet aware of Betty standing next to him._

"_You're not completely thrilled about me taking this job, are you?" She said suddenly._

_It was impossible for him to lie and in that moment, he didn't want to._

"_I was trying to be supportive," He admitted, "I didn't realise I'd done such a poor job of it."_

"_You didn't. But I know you Daniel. And I can tell when you're not completely happy with something, even without your thumbs up signal," She shot him a small, wry smile at that and Daniel couldn't help but return it._

"_Betty, this job, is it what you really want?" He asked tentatively._

_She frowned at him in confusion._

"_Daniel, I've always wanted to run my own magazine. You know that. It was one of the first things I told you when we met."_

"_I know, but what I mean is, is that why you're taking it? Or are you taking this job because of Rahul?"_

_That question had been plaguing him since she'd first mentioned Rahul offering her the job opportunity._

_Betty, however, still looked confused._

"_I'm not sure I follow Daniel."_

_Daniel took a deep breath._

"_Betty, I can understand you guys being in love," boy that had been hard to say, "and not wanting to be apart. But if that's the only reason you're making this decision, I think maybe you should reconsider it. You guys can always keep up a long distance relationship until you're more certain of where things are going. This kind of thing can put a lot of pressure on a couple, especially this early. So while it seems like an ideal thing right now it might not actually—"_

"_Daniel, hold on!" Betty cut him off. _

_He'd kept his gaze on the view in front of them while giving his little speech. But at Betty's sudden outburst he looked over at her. She was watching him with wide eyes and her expression was somewhere between amused and confused._

"_Rahul and I...in love...?" She shook her head slightly. "Is that what you thought all this time?"_

_He looked at her blankly. _

"_Daniel, you've got it completely wrong," She said, sounding more amused now. "I'm not in love with Rahul. And he's certainly not in love with me."_

_Daniel felt something unknot itself inside his chest. But now it was his turn to be confused._

"_But you guys always seemed so close."_

"_We are," Betty acknowledged._

"_And you met his family. He even took you with to his parents' anniversary party, at their request, in Mumbai!" Daniel continued._

_Betty giggled._

"_All that's true, but it doesn't mean we're in love with each other. Rahul is like family Daniel. I love him like a brother and he thinks of me as a younger sister. As for meeting his parents, he comes from a close-knit family. He wanted them to meet me. And I've become very fond of them. His mother, Priya, has been like a second mother to me. They've all been incredibly kind to me. Especially when things were difficult this past year."_

"_Oh."_

_She giggled again at his monosyllabic response. But really, it was all he could come up with given the wave of relief that was presently washing over him. _

_Betty wasn't in love with Rahul! This particular fear of his had never been realised. _

_The moment was short-lived however as the reality of the situation crashed back on him._

_Betty was still leaving. And she was taking the job, because she really wanted the job._

"_This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me Daniel," She spoke suddenly, as if reading his thoughts, "and one that I never imagined I'd get so soon. I'm not saying it's going to be easy; leaving my friends and family, leaving basically everything I know behind, to start my life from scratch in a new country. And I'm not saying I'm not more than a bit terrified. But this is something I need to do. It's time for me to take the next step. And it would really help to have your support in this."_

"_You do Betty," Daniel said earnestly. "If this is what you want to do, if it's important to you and will make you happy, then I'm with you on it all the way. I'm just really going to miss you; that's all." _

_Betty reached over and squeezed his hand that was resting next to hers on the rail._

"_Daniel, you know you're not going to be rid of me that easily. We're always going to be friends."_

"_Yeah," He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes._

"_You'll come visit me as soon as you can and I've got a place of my own."_

"_Definitely."_

"_And I'll fully expect you to email and Skype me regularly."_

"_Of course. I'll write you so often you'll start putting my letters under spam."_

_Betty laughed._

"_So we're okay?"_

"_We're okay."_

* * *

Daniel sighed as he collapsed on his black leather couch. It was late, past one am. But he'd long given up any attempts at sleep. He turned the television on, settling on the classic movies channel. _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ was playing. He left it on but kept the volume down low.

In a few hours, Betty would be landing at Heathrow Airport and take that first step towards her new life in London. Rahul would meet her there, having gone ahead some weeks before. Daniel was actually grateful now for the man's presence. At least Betty would have someone looking out for her over there. He didn't doubt that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But it always helped to have someone on your side. She'd been the one to show him that.

Daniel fetched a glass of water from the kitchen and then settled back on his couch. He picked up his phone, scanning through his photos until he settled on the picture Hilda had snapped sometime during Betty's farewell party.

He'd been dancing with Betty at the time, his arms on her waist and hers resting on his shoulders. She was laughing at something he'd said, her eyes dancing with mirth, while he smiled down at her. It was the expression on his own face that caught him by surprise.

All he could think was that he looked like a man in...in...

He couldn't complete the thought. Still, he kept looking at the picture.

Dancing together, with Betty in his arms, the two of them looked happy. More than that, they looked...right.

On the television, Daniel could hear Paul talking to Holly.

"_**You're chicken. You've got no guts."**_

He looked again at his expression in the photo of him and Betty.

"_**People do fall in love. People do belong to each other. Because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness."**_

And he started recalling voices out of his memory.

_I hope you'll be happy Daniel. I hope you find what you're looking for._

Paul tossed the ring box at Holly.

_You know how much I've always needed you. You know what I'd be without you._

_Not a day's gone by when she hasn't mentioned you._

Holly started chasing after Paul.

_Would you like me to go with you?_

_You've always found your way back to each other._

_I should have said something to you about how I was feeling._

Paul watched Holly look for Cat.

_So what are you going to do about it?_

_And I suppose it never occurred to you that I might need you anyway._

_Would you like me to go with you?_

He looked at the photograph again. At his expression as he smiled at her. A man in lo—

_This isn't an either-or situation Daniel._

_You have to know that I would have come to you._

_Stop hiding behind the excuse that you're supposedly second rate and there's nothing you can do about it._

Paul and Holly embraced in the rain.

_Would you like me to go with you?_

And suddenly, just like that, Daniel knew.

He didn't want the emails and the Skype chats. He didn't want Christmas together once a year, and maybe a week or two during the summer.

He didn't want their relationship to be made up of a precious few, snatched moments, interrupted by longer moments of separation.

Because he was sure of it now.

He and Betty belonged to each other.

And Daniel didn't want to be parted from her a moment longer.

_Would you like me to go with you?_

* * *

**Author's note: **So this is the last chapter of this fic. But I will be writing an epilogue to wrap things up. I tried really hard not to have Daniel's epiphanic moment be corny. Not sure if I've succeeded. Epilogue coming soon.


	7. EPILOGUE

**Author's note:** So I'm in a celebratory mood :). I've just finished my first ever fanfiction ficlet! Endings are always hard. You don't want to tie things up too cheesily, but you want the readers to finish the story feeling satisfied. Here's hoping I've managed to do that. Enjoy the epilogue!

**Special mention: **To every person who's read, favourited, alerted or otherwise enjoyed this story, THANK YOU. I really appreciate you giving my little story a chance.

Then to:

_Betty the Bonita, Likaella, TMadison, readingfrenzy, kimberly926, fenyx, ginnyweasleyrules, Jaxolelady, Noz88, Nikki-4, Agentcaroline, mistressscorpio, meemalee,_ and _Serendipity10_.

Thank you for taking the time to leave such kind and encouraging comments. I've enjoyed hearing what you think and feel about the story, and discussing my work with you.

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing. I don't own ITV either. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm simply borrowing these characters for a creative exercise.

* * *

_SURPRISE_

She hadn't noticed him yet.

She was on the phone when he arrived, her chair turned to the side and facing away from him.

Daniel leaned against the doorway of her office, a smile playing on his lips as he watched Betty at work.

"So did the advertisers agree to meet with you?" He spoke casually, announcing his presence just as she ended the call.

"Yes; thankfully. It'll take some persuasion but-" Betty broke off abruptly as it finally registered that the voice speaking from the doorway was male, distinctly American, and altogether very familiar.

She whirled round in her chair, her eyes wide with surprise as she took in the sight of Daniel walking into her office; a smirk on his face and his cobalt eyes shining with mirth.

"Daniel?-" Betty said, still stunned, as she got to her feet. "What are you doing here?"

Daniel chuckled.

"Can't a guy just drop by and visit his girlfriend?" He said gleefully, pulling her into his arms and gathering her soft curves as close to him as possible.

Betty shot him a look although her arms had gone to rest on his shoulders instinctively.

"Daniel, you flew across an entire ocean to another continent. And weren't you supposed to have that meeting with Atlantic Attire today? I'd say that's a little more than just "dropping by"."

"Alright," He admitted with a guilty smile. "I was a little worried. You sounded really down the last few times we spoke on the phone," He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering slightly over the skin of her cheek.

"Then Rahul called me, and he said you've been stressed and pretty moody."

Betty rolled her eyes.

"You and Rahul are really overprotective, you know that? I'm not so sure the two of you getting chummy was such a good idea anymore; not if you're going to gang up on me like this," She narrowed her eyes playfully.

Daniel smirked.

"Rahul is just looking out for you. Something I'm very grateful for by the way. Anyway, I figured I'd better hop on a plane and get over here to look after you a little, maybe get you out of the funk. That and I just really missed you," He tightened his hold on her slightly.

Her expression softened at that.

"I missed you too Daniel, so much." She leaned into a soft kiss but pulled away before his enthusiasm could intensify their embrace. He kept his arms around her waist though and she didn't relinquish her hold on his shoulders.

"So how long are you here for?" Betty asked, her fingers idly combing through the short locks at the nape of his neck.

"Four days. Wilhelmina can handle the pitch with Atlantic Attire and there's nothing really pressing going on at the moment. I wish I could say the same for you," He gave her a sympathetic smile, "I know you've probably still got a million things to do."

"I do," Betty reluctantly agreed. "I've got another meeting to get to and about a dozen other phone calls to make. Although I'd much rather just cancel everything and head home with you."

She pressed herself closer to him, her head resting against his chest, and Daniel hugged her to him.

"I know, but it's only for a few hours. When you're done, I'll be waiting for you," He smiled at her.

She pulled back a little so she could look up at him.

"I love you," She murmured.

Daniel smiled and something unspeakably tender entered his gaze.

He'd said the words first, a month ago. They'd been tangled together on her couch, kissing languidly, when he'd suddenly felt the urge to put everything he was feeling into words. At that point, it hadn't come as a surprise when she'd said the words back.

"I know; I love you too" He said, brushing his mouth against hers once more. "Now get going. Hurry up and finish what you need to do so you can come home to me. I'll see you in an hour or two."

* * *

_A NIGHT IN_

They were lying together on her couch, cuddling up with Betty resting with her back against his chest and his arm slung across her waist. They'd been watching _Dr. Who, _a show Betty was becoming somewhat addicted to since her move to the UK. Daniel, admittedly, wouldn't have minded having sex, but apart from some heated kisses, Betty didn't appear to be in the mood yet.

He was staying over for four days though, so he figured they'd have sex eventually. Right now he had Betty in his arms, warm, gorgeous and real. And that was enough. But he wasn't particularly interested in the TV show at the moment, so he allowed his thoughts to drift to something else.

He'd visited Betty four times in the past six months since they'd gotten together, usually making a long weekend of it and on one occasion, he'd managed to spend a whole week with her. Then of course there were the daily Skype chats and weekly emails. Daniel was not unhappy having a long distance relationship with Betty and he was enjoying the different ways that they were able to connect, despite the distance between them.

He knew that they'd be able to make a long distance relationship work for many more months if that's what it came to. But he was really hoping that Betty would be ready for him to move soon. He hated not having her around all the time and he wanted them to live together. He wanted to live in London, with her.

He was planning to talk to her about it when she came to New York at the end of the month. It was the first time she was able to get leave. But now he wondered if he would be able to wait that long. Daniel felt that he was right on the cusp of having something truly wonderful. And the selfish part of him was screaming with impatience to just reach out and take it.

A sigh from Betty brought him out of his musings.

"Baby?" Daniel rubbed his hand soothingly along Betty's arm. "What are you thinking about?"

She turned slightly so that her head was buried in his chest.

"I'm thinking about Monday," Betty spoke, her voice slightly muffled by his sweatshirt. "And how I really don't want to have to say goodbye to you again," She admitted.

Daniel stilled slightly at her words and an inexplicable warmth began to pool in his chest. Maybe he wouldn't have to wait till the end of the month. Betty had just given him an ideal opening.

"Well," He began slowly, "it's funny you should mention that, because I really don't want to say goodbye again either."

Something in his tone must have suggested that he meant something significant.

Betty sat up quickly, turning so that she could face him.

"Daniel?" She prompted, watching him intently.

"Alright," He started, running a hand through his hair idly. "I know we agreed not to rush into things. Hell, I practically spent three months wooing you before you agreed to go out with me," He gave her a wry little smile.

Betty looked slightly guilty.

"I'm sorry," She said, apologetically. "You know what I'm like. I'm stubborn and not very good at dealing with change. And the idea of _us_ was a very big change. It's not that I didn't care for you too. I just spent a long time running away from my feelings. But you did finally catch me and I'd like to think I've made up for it in the last six months."

Daniel smirked.

"You definitely have. And I wasn't holding it against you or complaining, or anything. I was just trying to explain how I might be a little ahead of you when it comes to thinking about our relationship. I can be a little selfish and impatient, but I've wanted to be with you for a really long time."

She smiled at that.

"So is there something in particular you've been thinking about? About us?" She prompted.

"There is something," He admitted. "Something that I want for us. I know you might not be ready yet, and I'm okay with that. Nothing has to happen right now. But I would like you to at least start thinking about it," He said.

"Ok," Betty breathed, "What is it?"

Daniel swallowed hard.

"I...I want...to move. I'm ready. And I want to move Betty."

"Move where?"

Daniel shot her an annoyed look.

"Where do you think?" He said pointedly.

Betty gaped at him.

Now Daniel was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He looked away from her slightly.

"It's not that much of a shock, is it? I mean, you had to know I would move eventually. This is what we've been heading towards for six months; it's the natural progression right? I know you wanted me to make really sure that it was what I wanted. And I have. And it is."

At this point, Betty's mind finally seemed to catch up.

"You want to move here, you want us to live together?" She asked him.

"Yes, I do. But only once you're ready-"

"I am ready Daniel," Betty interrupted him. "I want to live with you too! So much." She pounced tackling him into a hug.

His arms had gone around her automatically, but now he pulled back slightly so he could see her face. "You do?" He said, searching her face intently.

"Yes!" Betty beamed at him. "As much as I've loved the weekend visits and all the emails and Skype chats, I've really hated having to be away from you all the time. I just wasn't sure if you were thinking in that direction yet. I mean, I know what a big sacrifice I'd be asking you to make."

At this, Betty seemed to sober a little. "Are you really, really sure?" She asked him this time. "You'll have to pick up your entire life and start it over here. I don't want you to have any re-" Daniel cut her off with a finger against her lips.

"Stop that," He said firmly. "I've thought about this a lot Betty. It will be a little hard to leave my life in New York behind, but I have something so much better to look forward to. And I'm really happy about that. So you have nothing to feel guilty about, ok?"

"Ok," Betty said with a smile.

Daniel surged forward suddenly, crushing his lips against hers. Betty responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck. He tangled his fingers in her hair, gently tugging her closer, the kiss deepening.

"So we're agreed?" Daniel said breathlessly, still needing a little assurance. "I'm moving to London and we're going to live together?"

"We're agreed," Betty nodded. "So when do you want to move?" She added in between kisses.

Daniel smiled down at her.

"As soon as you'll have me."

* * *

_AND THEY ALL LIVED..._

"You're being ridiculous," Betty wandered back into the living room. She'd changed out of the cocktail dress she'd worn to his ITV work function earlier that evening. Now she was wearing her favourite camisole and a pair of his boxers.

"I am not," Daniel insisted. He watched her from his position on the sofa. "I just don't appreciate it when some Irishman is trying to make a move on my wife."

"Neil is not putting any moves on me," She was standing next to him on the sofa now, and helped herself to his cup of coffee.

"He calls you all the time and he's always hovering around you at the office," Daniel pouted.

Betty actually laughed at that.

"Daniel, he's my assistant! It's his job to keep me up to speed on things. Of course he's going to be around me."

"Well he doesn't have to drool over you all the time."

Betty rolled her eyes.

"You're being jealous and irrational, and you know it. Neil is not interested in me. In fact, I think he's dating someone now."

"If you say so," Daniel reached for Betty's free hand, tugging her down onto his lap. She gave a little squeal of surprise and almost spilled their shared cup of coffee. "Just as long as he knows he won't ever be dating _you_." He started planting kisses on her neck.

Betty smiled and tilted her head slightly to give him better access.

"No chance of that," She pushed him back slightly so she could meet his eyes. "I'm already yours," Betty held up her left hand where his engagement and wedding bands rested on her ring finger. "We belong to each other now."

"Always," Daniel smiled, before he kissed her again.

And that effectively soothed any lingering insecurities he might have felt. Her words, which were a strange echo of the very sentiments he'd felt the night he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Betty, were true.

For eight years they had loved each other. And they'd been in love with each other for four and a half years. Now he wore her ring, and she wore his. They were married for two years and neither was planning on ever being without the other one.

Because they belonged to each other.

And if there was one truth in the world, this was it.

* * *

**AN:**..._HAPPILY EVER AFTER ;). _

I tried to tie off all the important loose ends. But if you have any questions, like who took over MODE and MEADE, or what work is Daniel doing in London now, or anything else, send me a PM and I'll fill you in.

I just couldn't address everything here without disrupting the narrative flow I wanted. So I focused on the most important things. Thanks for reading.


End file.
